Baby Steps
by Princess Dystopia
Summary: "I think we're good with just best friends." "Yeah, we like to take baby steps." But after all those years, could they really say that's true? KitexBlackRose one-shot.


_Kite._

Kite? Yes, she knew that name all too well. The dual blades, that tuft of cerulean hair sticking out from under that odd orange hat, the reassuring smile that, although the character was merely a cluster of 1's and 0's, reminded her, "Everything is okay, BlackRose. I'm right here."

In the beginning, if someone were to say those exact words to her, Akira would have scoffed in their direction. With Fumikazu comatose, an "okay" reality seemed completely impossible. But at Kite's side, it became possible.

BlackRose never would've thought that the lost-looking Twinblade she had once bribed into taking her to a place she knew was extremely dangerous would someday become the glue that held Akira together. She knew he was just as stressed out as she was, if not more. On top of bearing the burden of that damned bracelet, Kite had to reason with his best friend being in the hospital, schoolwork, and trying to ignore the trouble and death threats Balmung of the Azure Sky delivered. Even with all that, he still made time to hold her had through all her problems; both in The World and real life.

There had been so many nights he had remained awake and logged in with her just to listen to her complain about usual high school girl drama. She would talk for hours and hours and just when she thought he had fallen asleep, his character would nod and his voice would urge her to continue speaking. And she did. In a way, Kite had transformed himself into her secret diary, listening and keeping her deepest thoughts and feelings hidden away without fail.

Regret would very often hit her when memories of disappointment returned to her mind. As they fought their way through phases, past Cubia, and even just in simple areas, BlackRose would become frustrated. "Why can't you get stronger?" That was the original phrase she used to scold herself. When Kite tried to cheer her up with encouraging words, she would retaliate with harsh words.

There had even been a time when Kite's headstrong demeanor shattered and he doubted the righteousness of his actions. Instead of treating him with love and care like any friend would, BlackRose took the opposite turn. She had yelled and practically deemed his concerns "idiotic." As soon as she had logged out for the night, her actions and words haunted her.

But as always, he went right back to holding his head up high and, of course, forgiving BlackRose. Even though he was two years younger than her, she looked up to him. She wanted to be the type of person who people sought the friendship of. Kite had so many players (mostly female, which surprisingly made the Heavy Blade jealous) handing over their member addresses to him, asking to invite them whenever he had spare time. "Spare time" was scarce, but he still spent time with all of them.

Kite was a comfortable person. Even the night before they had decided to meet face-to-face, there weren't any nervous feelings swirling in Akira's gut. For months, it had already felt as if they had met and had been friends for years. Finally, that exciting morning had arrived.

Hayami Akira eagerly waited near a bus stop not far from her house. She knew Kite wouldn't be alone. Balmung, who had recently apologized for his truculent behavior and joined their side, would also be tagging along on the visit to a certain hospital. Kite's best friend and Balmung's game partner, Yasuhiko, had also been a coma victim.

As she sat next to a very busy-looking woman on the bus, Akira tried to imagine what the two would really look like. The only thing she knew about them were names. Ukito Takashi was the player behind the famous Azure Sky. Higuchi Takei was indeed her best friend, Kite.

Finally, the bus came to a halt and she followed the woman off. Nobody was sitting around waiting for her. Akira had stood awkwardly at a street corner, receiving confused looks from many passers-bys, until an unknown dark blue car skidded to a halt in front of her. From what she could see, there was no passenger.

The tinted window had rolled down slowly, very much resembling the way car windows did in those movies Akira sometimes watched where the attractive teenage girl was snatched off the streets and forced into human trafficking.

"Get in the car," a deep, yet oddly familiar voice had ordered from the drivers' side. "Now."

Akira had peeked into the car, eyeing the man carefully. He was older than her, but only by a few years. He had dark hair, cut cleanly to give off the impression that he was a business-type man. However, the clothes he wore opposed that speculation. He sported a faded pair of jeans, black tennis shoes, and a tight dark shirt that framed his biceps. His soft green eyes narrowed at her dangerously.

_Oh, God,_ Akira thought, _Its happening. I'm too young for this!_

"I said get in or I'll get out and throw you in, girl."

Heart pounding and breath catching in her throat, Akira had opened the back passenger door and scooted in. The man locked the doors and began driving at a very high-speed. Another voice chuckled from the seat in front of her.

"What should we do this this one?" It was a male, but not as old as the driver.

His eyes had met hers in the mirror and Akira could see a devious smirk on his face. "She's a pretty one. We'll think of something."

A brunette boy turned in the seat to look at her. His hair was shaggy, so it hung over his bright blue eyes. When they made eye-contact, all fear left Akira's body.

"Hey there, BlackRose. You look nice today."

The driver howled in laughter and Akira's face burned with embarrassment.

"YOU GUYS ARE JERKS! GO DIE!"

The person she knew as Kite had turned to the driver, his face showing obvious hurt. "Hear that, Takashi? BlackRose doesn't like us in real life."

"Oh, that's too bad," Takashi, Balmung, replied. "Wait, you didn't show her what we bought her yet."

"That's right! The reason we were late!"

Takei, Kite, fished around for a moment before handing a delicious smelling bag back to her. The _McDonald's_ logo was the first thing to catch her attention.

"We already ate," Takei had explained. "So, we figured you'd like food too."

"You're welcome, by the way," Takashi added.

Akira tried her hardest to hide her grin, but it was impossible. "Thanks, guys."

The rest of that day had been spent watching over Yasuhiko's quiet body and talking over future plans. There had been so many questions and nobody really had answers. How much time did they have left? How could they really trust? How many more people were like Yasuhiko and Fumikazu?

However, Akira knew one thing for sure. From that day on, Higuchi Takei, her Kite, was definitely her best friend and he seemed to think the same. At the end of the day, Takashi had dropped her off in front of her house and tried to ignore the awkward glowering of her father, who stood near the front door.

"It was nice meeting you two," Akira had honestly told them as she stepped out of the car. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Takashi nudge Takei's arm.

Suddenly, Takei was out of the car, too. "I want to meet your father."

_Weird, weird,_ Akira thought in a panic, _This is going to be very, very, very weird._

It had been a clichéd sort of introduction. Usual hand-shaking had been exchanged, smiles were given, and Akira even received a hug from the beaming Takei. She noticed they were about the same height, which she found an odd comfort in.

An impatient car horn tore the two away from each other. Takashi had made an earlier remark to Takei about female's fathers making him nervous. That could be understood. Meeting the parents of even just a female friend, Takei found out, was truly terrifying.

Even as the mouse pointer hovered over the "delete character" button, Akira hesitated to think back to all her memories with the group she was involved in. After everything was said and done, the comatose victims woke up and The World returned to a normal MMORPG. There really was no reason to continue playing. Besides, she was an upperclassman now. School was more important.

Everyone had moved on. Mistral, a female Wavemaster who BlackRose had become close to, finally had her baby girl. Every single "Dot Hacker" had crowded into the hospital waiting room to welcome Kurokawa Merei into the world. Even the players behind Helba and Lios showed their faces.

Balmung had graduated high school and rushed straight into college while working for the corporation that ran the game he loved so dearly. As "Ukito Takashi" was called from the speakers in the event center, the same supporters who welcomed a baby also stood up to clap and welcome the newly graduated Blademaster, who stood proudly with his diploma in one hand and his principle's hand in the other.

Even Kite set out on his own. Soon enough, both he and Akira were graduated as well. However, Higuchi Takei never left her behind. Enrolling in the same college, they became inseparable.

"You know," Takashi began, draping an arm over the shoulders of his very attractive girlfriend as he sat in front of Akira and Takei at a local park table, "you two would make a pretty good couple."

"I agree," Miano replied, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

A small, hidden smile graced both of the younger one's faces. "No," Akira told them, feeling her face go red. "I think we're good with just best friends."

"Yeah," Takei agreed. "We like to take baby steps."

From under the table, a larger hand wrapped around a feminine one. BlackRose turned her head to grin at the Twinblade, just as she used to all those years ago.


End file.
